The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has named Reggie Blackwell as the new forest supervisor of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests.

Blackwell, who has 39 years experience with the USDA, will supervise approximately 200 employees of the 1.2-million-acre Ozark National Forest and 23,000-acre St. Francis National Forest.

“I feel extremely honored to be selected as the forest supervisor for the Ozark-St.Francis National Forests,” Blackwell said. “I am very aware of the forest’s long, outstanding history of important contributions to local and state communities and economies and of the forest’s nationally significant natural resources and scenic attractions.

I am looking forward to working to maintain the great history of the Ozark-St. Francis with the many people, groups and organizations who share in the appreciation and uses of the national forests.”

Blackwell has served 30 years with the Forest Service and nine years with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

He previously served as a national resource specialist with the NRCS in Fort Worth, Texas.

He began his career with the Forest Service at the Ouachita National Forest before serving as a forest service district ranger on the Black Kettle National Grassland in Oklahoma and Texas for 15 years. He has also worked at the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico.

Blackwell is a native of McKinney, Texas, and is married to his wife, Anita. The couple has four children and five grandchildren.